Gold March Issue by Kevi Chishios

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issue 24 march 14 - april 13 2013

8 EDITORIAL 10 UP FRONT 16 FIVE MINUTES WITH…

+ OPINION CYPRUS MEANS BUSINESS

THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR THE FUND INDUSTRY By Ioannis Gaiganis

TURNING TO FITNESS By Kyriakos Onisiforou

WHAT LIES AHEAD? By George Theocharides 56

RESTORING THE ISLAND’S DAMAGED REPUTATION AND ENHANCING THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SECTOR ARE AMONG THE NEW PRESIDENT’S TOP PRIORITIES.

THE NEWS MACHINE IS A HUNGRY BEAST by Peter Economides 98

66 22

FEATURE 22 | THE SHIPPING FORECAST How the new government can affect the future of the Cyprus shipping industry

32 | “CALL ME LIBERAL BUT PRIVATISATION IS THE WAY TO GO” Interview with Pawel Dobrowolski, Ambassador of Poland to Cyprus

36 | HAPPINESS IS A SUCCESSFUL LAW FIRM Angelos Paphitis looks back on his first seven years

58 | THE LONG ROAD BACK TO GROWTH Interview with Antonis Vidakis of Ernst & Young.

93 64

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS 41 | A UDIT, TAX & ACCOUNTING SERVICES IN CYPRUS 69 | CORPORATE TRAVEL

60 | THE KING OF SOVEREIGN DEBT RESTRUCTURING Lee Buchheit, the mastermind behind Greece’s debt Restructuring, talks to Gold

64 | EVOLUTION OF A NEW MARKET Does Binary Trading represent a future Industry standard or is it just another short-lived fad?

66 | THE RELUCTANT CEO Interview with Oren Laurent, Founder of Banc De Binary

86 90 92 94

{money} {business} {economy} {lifestyle}

6 Gold THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS

contents.indd 6

07/03/2013 12:41

EDITORIAL ISSUE 24 MARCH 14 - ApRIl 13, 2013 pRICE €4.95

ast month’s election of Nicos Anastasiades as the seventh President of Cyprus was something of a foregone conclusion, given the mess that the administration of Demetris Christofias had got the country into. Yes, Cyprus had been affected by the global financial crisis and yes, the haircut of Greece’s debt had undoubtedly led to the collapse of the island’s oversized banking sector but that is only half of the story. The bailout that was requested last year was for the economy too, and in June Cyprus needs to pay a €1.4 billion bond redemption with money that is simply does not have. It is clear that the previous government delayed reaching an agreement with the Troika in order to avoid taking responsibility for a situation for which it held a major part, if not all, of the blame. The Republic of Cyprus turns 53 this year and its voters are sophisticated enough to understand the issues and to question traditional party allegiances. There was really no way that AKEL could hold on to power. So we have a new President and a new government. It is to Anastasiades’ credit that he was quick to announce his first three key appointments: Michalis Sarris as Minister of Finance, Ioannis Kasoulides as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Christopher Pissarides, winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Economics, as Head of the newly-established National Economic Policy Council. All three are highly respected at home and abroad and their appointment sent out the immediate and powerful message that since the February 24 poll things have changed in Cyprus. Normally we would say that the new government now needs to be given time to deal with a crisis for which it cannot be held responsible. However, time is not on Cyprus’ side and those in power need to act fast to repair the damage to the island’s reputation caused not only by the bailout request and subsequent delaying tactics which displeased our European partners considerably, but also by the accusations of money laundering which refuse to go away despite official reassurances about the strict enforcement of legislation and regulation in this area. Nicos Anastasiades appears to mean business and in his interview (page 18) he makes it clear that, at last, the government is being led by a politician who not only understands the significance of the professional services sector to the economy but intends to prove it through action and not just words. Another key sector to which the President has made a major commitment is shipping (page 22). Our interviews with officials and members of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber reveal the importance they all place on the appointment of an Under-Secretary to the President for Shipping (a Minister for Shipping in all but name) who will have direct jurisdiction over the Department of Merchant Shipping, draft a long-overdue national shipping policy and be an internationally recognized head of the island’s important shipping industry. Elsewhere in this issue we look at Binary Options (or Binary Trading), the latest arrival on the financial trading scene with an article (page 68) and an interview with the CEO of Banc De Binary (page 70) and we talk to two people with strong opinions on the state of the Cyprus economy – Lee Buchheit, a leading expert in sovereign debt restructuring (page 64), and the Polish Ambassador to Cyprus, Pawel Dobrowolski, who believes that the privatisation of the country’s semi-government corporations will have a similarly beneficial effect as the process did in his own country (page 32). Finally, you may have noticed that this issue of Gold came out a week later than its regular publication date of the 7th of each month. For various reasons, the magazine will now be published on the 14th of each month, starting with this issue, and it will cost you less!

John Vickers, Chief Editor john@imh.com.cy

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Repairing the Damage

the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus

Cyprus Means Business President Anastasiades on his priorities for attracting new investment and improving existing public and private sector services

+ ANdREAS NEoClEoUS, ANGEloS pApHITIS, ANToNIS vIdAkIS SHIppING

what lies ahead for the industry?

INTERvIEwS

lEE bUCHHEIT pAwEl dobRowolSkI oREN lAURENT

bINARy TRAdING

FINANCE’S FUTURE oR oNE MoRE SHoRT-lIvEd FAd?

plUS:

MoNEy / bUSINESS ECoNoMy TAX & lEGAl lIFESTylE / opINIoN

Published by IMH ISSN 1986 - 3543

Managing Director:

George Michail

General Manager:

Daphne Roditou Tang

Media Manager: Elena Leontiou Editor-In-Chief:

John Vickers

senior Editor:

Kyproula Papachristodoulou Contributors to this issue:

Shoham Cohen, Peter Economides, Ioannis Gaiganis, Kyriakos Onisiforou, Chloe Panayides, Glen Richards, George Theocharides Art DirectION:

Anna Theodosiou Senior designer: Alexia Petrou Photography:

Jo Michaelides

Marketing Executive:

Kevi Chishios

SALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE:

Phivos Karayiannis

Advertising Executives:

Irene Georgiou, Christopher Constantinou Operations Manager:

Voulla Nicolaou

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TFI Markets - Gold Magazine - March 2013 Ad - TFI Pay.pdf 3 05/03/2013 17:54:18

CMY

up front

New Fiduciary Law Presented

he Cyprus Fiduciary Association recently held a presentation of the new Fiduciary Law which regulates the providers of administrative services to companies of international activities. CySEC’s Anti-Money Laundering Directive, with which all regulated persons have to comply, was also presented. The event at the Holiday Inn, Nicosia, was attended by a large number of Fiduciary Providers who had the opportunity to learn more on the provisions of the Law and its related Directives, the application process as well as the effects of its implementation. George Ioulianos, General Manager of the Association, spoke about its goals and objectives with regard to the new Law. Elena Argyropoulou, Head of the International Trust Department of Totalserve Management Ltd, gave an overview of the main provisions of the new Law while Costas Constantinides, Compliance Director of Boudica Trust Co. Ltd., presented the main points regarding anti-money laundering responsibilities and requirements. The subsequent open discussion gave participants an opportunity to put questions to the panel.

ickets to this year’s TEDx Nicosia event sold out within three days and so “RE-Think, Re-Generate, RE-Act”, which takes place at the Pallas Theatre, Nicosia on Saturday, March 9 from 10 am-5 pm, will be streamed live online, enabling all those unable to purchase a ticket and people worldwide to watch it on their computer, tablet or smart device. TED, a global platform devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, began in 1984 as a gathering place for innovators and leaders in the fields of Technology, Entertainment and Design. TEDx is part of a revolution in global education made possible by local organisers wanting to engage their communities. Over 3,000 TEDx events have taken place in 25 languages in 90 countries. At a TEDx event, video and live speakers combine to spark discussion and connection in a small group. The speakers at TEDx Nicosia 2013 are Dr. Stavros Zenios, Dr. Katerina Kaouri, Dr. Doros Polydorou, Idil Seytanoglou, Oren Simanian, Maria Vilanidou, Eloiza Savvidou, Stephanos Evripidou, Roddy Damalis, Dr. Ahmet, Jill Douka and Michael Virardi. TEDxNicosia has forged an exclusive partnership with Cytamobile-Vodafone which will facilitate the implementation of three additional events during 2013, including TEDxChange, TEDxYouth and TEDxWomen. Other TEDxNicosia partners include the Municipality of Nicosia, The University of Nicosia, Aon Hewitt, and Hilton Cyprus.

Emirates upgrades aircraft on its Cyprus service

o meet a growing demand on the Dubai-CyprusMalta service, Emirates Airline has upgraded its aircraft size to a larger Boeing 777-200, offering a total of 274 seats in a 3-class configuration with 12 First, 42 Business and 220 Economy Class. The Boeing 777-200 replaces the Airbus 340-300 aircraft which had been deployed since October 2012. Emirates Manager for Cyprus Jaber Mohamed noted that “A second aircraft upgrade within four months on our flights

10 Gold the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus

confirms Emirates’ commitment to Cyprus. The additional capacity will generate more trade and tourism opportunities. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft will give all our customers the award-winning ‘ice’ (information, communications, entertainment) in-flight entertainment, world-class service and gourmet cuisine, making the journey with Emirates as enjoyable as the destination.” Emirates, one of the world’s fastest-growing airlines, started its operations to Cyprus in 1994, connecting the island to new and key destinations across the world. Emirates currently flies daily from Dubai to Larnaca and on to Malta from where it returns to Larnaca the same afternoon, en route back to Dubai.

ForexTime starts operations

orexTime Ltd (FXTM) has announced the official start of its operations with the activation of its Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) license and the launch of its website www.forextime.com. Established by Alpari co-founder and shareholder Andrey Dashin, ForexTime is led by an executive team of experts who share the cumulative experience of several decades. Andrey Dashin says, “I have established ForexTime to challenge trader expectations. With ForexTime you get the advantage of trading with sophisticated, reliable and industry-leading technology, partnered with support from a team hand-picked because of their experience and knowledge of the industry.” ForexTime gives clients access to the global currency market and offers trading in Forex, precious metals, commodities, shares and indices. The company is also introducing solutions created specifically to different regions and intends to release new products and services throughout the year. Ensuring that the client experience is at the centre of ForexTime’s offering, the services provided are tailored to the individual needs and ambitions of each customer – novice, intermediate or experienced. “Our mission at ForexTime is to maximize the value our clients derive from their most precious commodity: time. The executive team’s cumulative experience means we have an in-depth knowledge of the Forex industry and, with the client experience in mind, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of this sector,” says ForexTime CEO Olga Rybalkina.